Shoe top



1937- J. E. GANTENBEIN 2,088,851

SHOE TOP Filed Sept. IE, 1936 gwuc/wfo r/ T072117, E. Ganienbein/ Patented Aug. 3, 1937 NITED STATES PATENT orrler.

John E. Gantenbein, Kelso, Wash. Application September 16, 1936, Serial No. 101,163

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shoes, especially in tops therefor, and its objects are as follows: Y i

First, to provideqa shoe with a top which has 5 fastening means located on the inside thereof, that is to say, on the inner side and not the interior, and for this reason is most easily accessible by crossing one leg upon the other, so as to bring the foot up close without stoop-ing, the

fastening means then being capable of expeditious manipulation by the person to whom said manipulation might otherwise mean considerable physical effort.

Second, to provide a self-locking shoe lace which accomplishes the self-locking function because of the arrangement of eyelet holes through which it is threaded.

Third, to use a marginal portion of the quarter as a guard against pressure of the threadedthrough parts of the shoe lace upon the instep of the foot.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View illustrating the intended mode of manipulating the improved fastening means of the new shoe top.

Figure 2 is a detail side elevation of a portion of the shoe top, showing the fastening means holding the. two members closed.

Figure 3 is a similar view illustrating the first step of loosening the fastening means. a

Figure 4 is a cross section taken on the line 5-4 of Figure 2.

The improved fastening means for shoe tops is primarily intended for use by persons who might experience more or less physical discomfort in manipulating fastening means of the known types. The common practice is to lace shoes along the top or ridge of the instep, and

in some instances to button them along the uter sides. To get at fastening means of this description requires the person to stoop over to some degree, and when persons are aged or otherwise physically incapacitated it becomes .an effort even to stoop slightly.

As is stated in one of the objects of the invention and clearly shown in the drawing, the fas- I 50 tening means of both shoes are located on the quarter 4, and what is herein known as the wing, 5. l

The shoe lace 6 may consist of a leather thong or woven fabric strand, and it repeatedly crosses between the vamp 3 and wing 5, these being the two members with which the fastening means is largely concerned, although the quarter A is also introduced into the combination inasmuch as it is there that the lace has its final anchorage.

One end of the lace is introduced into an eyelet 'l and knotted at 8 beneath the vamp 3. From here the lace repeatedly crosses between the two members, as stated, the wing 5 having a pair of eyelet holes 9 and at least one hook it, the vamp 3 having at least one pair of eyelet holes H, through which elements the lace is threaded, as shown.

In the present instance a pair of hooks If! is shown in the wing 5 and two pairs of eyelet holes H in the vamp 3, the illustration being that of a low shoe. In a high shoe the identical plan of hooks and eyelet holes is intended to be carried out, but more of each will be necessary in order to reach the top of the shoe. In a high shoe, as well as the low shoe shown, the quarter 4 is provided with a closely spaced pair of eyelet holes l2, I3. These are located approximately midway of the distance between the uppermost hook H! on the wing 5 and an anchor hook l5 on the quarter 4. The holes l2, l3 are also substantially in line with these two hooks. In continuing the threading of the lace 6, it is inserted into the hole l2, carried under the quarter 4 whence it emerges at the hole l3. The result of this arrangement is that the lace is crossed at I6, the one strand imposing friction upon the other so as to form a self-locking tie. The lace is knotted at I! near its free end and it is merely caught under the anchor hook l5.to prevent its dangling, further to insure the function of the self-lock at It.

It isto be observed that the wing 5 crosses the instep of the foot and extends well over toward the inside where it marginally carries the elements 9, l0 and M of the fastening means. In thus extending across, the vamp 5 overlaps the inner margin 18 of the quarter 4 (Fig. 4). This inner margin might consist of some part of the shoe structure other than the quarter, but in any event its function is to furnish a guard between the foot of the wearer and the nether parts of the lace 6 which might press against the foot and cause discomfort were it not for the cushioning effort of the guard.

Reverting to the. fundamental purpose of the improved shoe top, it is intended that the wearer shall merely be required to cross one leg over the other, as shown in Fig. 1, whereupon the fastening means is immediately accessible without his having to stoop at all. The knotted end of the lace 6 is first disconnected from the anchor hook l5 (Fig. 1) whereupon the portion l9 (Fig. 2) is pulled outwardly into a loop 20 (Fig. 3). When this loop is lifted from the uppermost hook Hi, there will be enough looseness in the lace to enable the lifting of the next loop from the hook l0. Then the foot opening at 2| will be sufiiciently free to enable the wearer to remove the shoe.

I claim:

1. A shoe having an upper including two members which along their adjacent margins define part of the foot opening, said margins having lacereceiving means including a top hook near the top of the shoe, a lace fastened to the shoe upper at one end and threaded through said means to enable drawing the members together, and securing means for the other end of the lace comprising an anchorhook on a portion of the shoe upper and a pair of holes in said shoe upper portion and situated between the anchor hook and upper hook, said other lace end being threaded through the pair of holes crossed under itself and then caught under the anchor hook.

2. A shoe having an upper including two members which along their adjacent margins define part of the foot opening, said margins having lace-receiving means including a top hook near the top of the shoe, a lace fastened to the shoe upper at one end and threaded through said means to enable drawing the members together, and securing means for the other end of the lace comprising an anchor hook on a portion of the shoe upper and a pair of holes in said shoe upper portion and situated between the anchor hook and upper hook, said other lace end being permanently threaded through the pair of holes, crossed under itself and then caught under the anchor hook the free extremity of the lace being knotted to limit the pull on the lace at one of the holes when a portion of the lace is lifted into a loop off of the upper hook.

JOHN E. GANTENBEIN. 

